Tried and True (Wild at Heart Book #1) Read Online Free PDF

there alongside themen. I faced all the danger I was called to face, and I earned that service exemption.” Her voice grated until it could have ground glass.
    Aaron’s face was a picture as he lost the last of his anger. She could see his mind working, sorting through the surprises of the last few minutes. “And you couldn’t have the exemption because you’re a woman.”
    “You tell me who’s being cheated. I say I’m being cheated out of what I rightfully earned.”
    “But women can’t earn the exemption. They aren’t allowed to enlist.”
    “Well, I did enlist. I used my own name too. I never told a single lie. I dressed as a man, but no one ever asked me if I was one.”
    “Didn’t you have a physical?”
    Kylie’s snort was purely rude. “The physical was a man looking at me. He said my name, saw me standing upright, and waved me through.”
    Nodding, Aaron said, “I remember mine. That’s how it was.”
    “I served my country honorably and I will not let . . .” Her voice broke, and then she steadied it. “When my brother died, we . . . I went to fight in his place. He believed in this country enough to give his life to preserve it. And I could do no less.” Of course, she’d have never considered fighting, even with her grief over Jimmy’s death, if Pa hadn’t goaded her into taking up arms.
    The prying land agent shook his head just briefly as if trying to shed water, then stepped back and sank into the chair he’d abandoned. Kylie had hoped he’d storm off and leave her. She wanted him to go away. But if he did, he’d gostraight to Aspen Ridge and disallow her claim. So maybe she didn’t want him to go away just yet.
    Not sure what she wanted, Kylie sank into her chair, much like Aaron had.
    Whether he’d decided to hear her out, or he was stunned by her revelations to a point that he needed to sit down, at least she still had a chance. She might not be able to save herself, but maybe she could save Shannon and Bailey.
    “I say I have a right to that Homestead Service Exemption.”
    Aaron held up a hand at her. “Just be quiet for a minute.”
    “I enlisted in the Army and served two full years.”
    Aaron glared at her. “Will you give me a minute to think?”
    She glared right back. “I ended up as an aide to one officer or another. I made a point of moving around every chance I got, hoping they wouldn’t realize I was a woman.”
    “I said be quiet!” Aaron snapped. “If you’re trying to convince me to go along with this fraud, let me try and figure out how I can do it.”
    Since that sounded far more hopeful than Kylie had expected, she clapped her mouth shut.
    A furious light flashed in Aaron’s eyes. “I just don’t believe it.”
    “You don’t believe I served? You think I’m lying?”
    “Why wouldn’t I? You are lying and have been all along. ‘I never told a single lie’ is a pile of horse dung, and you know it. If I say I believe you fought in the war, then all that proves is that every man who looked at you for more than ten seconds and didn’t realize you were a womanmust have the intelligence of swamp moss and the eyesight of a bat.”
    “Most of the men I worked for were too busy to pay me much mind.”
    “Whether it’s true or not, you have no record of what you’ve done in the war. None that will stand up to scrutiny, because there is no war service available to women. But I know how to solve this.”
    Kylie’s heart lifted. “You do?”
    Aaron nodded. “It’s not that hard. Women are allowed to homestead. With two pen strokes I can mark you as a woman and strike through the service exemption. It’ll take you five years but—”
    “No!” Kylie made a fist and was so tempted to throw it, she wondered if she’d lived disguised as a man for too long. Women didn’t go around punching people.
    “Why not? You’ll be here just the same, working your land.”
    “No I won’t!” Kylie’s temper exploded. She flung her arms wide and